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Hinterland Warriors: European Empires and Exotic Uniforms

Title

Hinterland Warriors: European Empires and Exotic Uniforms

Publication Type

Book

Year of Publication

1999

Authors

Abler, Thomas

Number of Pages

200

Publisher

Berg

City, Country

Oxford: New York

Abstract

Much of the exotic dress of the armies of Europe and elsewhere has its origins in the conditions of frontier wars fought by imperial armies. As states have expanded to control hinterlands occupied. Throughout time, imperial officers and auxiliaries adopted the dress of these hinterland troops under their command, and even metropolitan units in the imperial armies appropriated items of local dress while engaged in wars on the borders of the empire. These innovations frequently became institutionalized, and in many cases were distorted and stylized, resulting in a caricature of the dress of the hinterland troops that originally provided the model. This engrossing book charts how the perceptions of these marginalized peoples influenced and ultimately transformed the history of military dress.